On my own
by Darkfirelight
Summary: Lloyd escapes the renegades base by himself. Separated from the group of Regeneration, all he can do is survive and hope to meet up with them on the way. Takes place near the beginning of the game, when Lloyd first meets Yuan. No Yaoi/Yuri.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

Summary: Lloyd's friends are late to the Renegades' Triet base, and he finds himself on his own. Will he find his friends again?

* * *

Lloyd glared at the cyan-haired Desian, a cocky smirk in place. "Funny, 'cause I don't see the need to give my name to a moron who doesn't realize just how pathetic he is." He taunted.

"Why you...!" The man growled and launched the ball of lightning compressed within his hand.

Lloyd quickly edged to the side around it, letting the attack dissipate against the door and charged, bringing his twin blades around for a slash at each side.

The half-elf in front of him edged backward and twisted, swinging his Swallow in a full circle and bringing a large, smooth edge around to slice into Lloyd's chest.

The red-clad boy grimaced as it dug through the thick leather of his top, leaving a thin cut across the center and quickly retaliated, slamming his wooden swords against the other mans weapon and locking eyes. "Desian scum...!" He spat, eyes clouded with hatred.

His opponent's smirk widened, as though amused by his words. "Is that what you think?" He almost purred, eyes bright with humour. "You really don't have a clue, do you?"

Lloyd pulled back, letting his swords' tips rest against the ground as he huffed out a breathe of exertion. "I know enough!" He yelled, suddenly twisting wordlessly as though to slam into the enemy.

The man smirked at his words and lazily brought up his weapon to defend against the sloppy attack, only for his eyes to widen when Lloyd fell short, sliding to a halt mere inches away from him. "Wha-?"

"Demon Fang!" At such short range there was no way to block the attack; so Yuan improvised, swinging to lessen the force of the blow with a cleave of his blade and take the brunt of it with his left forearm.

"You-!" He stopped short, realizing the boy was no longer in front of him. He glanced about the room sharply with narrowed eyes, only relaxing when he realized that the boy was not in the room anymore. "Damnit. Clever punk, just like his father..." He conceded.

"Lord Yuan!" Botta burst into the room, panting from the brisk run to his leaders' private office. "The Chosen's group is here!"

"What!?" He hissed, aggravated. "One thing after another... Botta, I can't let _him_ see me, or our plans will be ruined. Hold them off!" He ordered, swiftly retreating out the same exit that Lloyd had left from.

Sighing, the bearded man turned to confront the group before him. "Well, if it isn't the chosen's group...!"

* * *

Lloyd panted as he crested the sandy hill a distance away from the base. "Shit...!" He cursed, realizing that he likely wouldn't be able to meet up with the other's now that he had lost Genis.

He turned and started trekking back to Triet, hoping to gather information. 'Maybe the psychic woman knows something.' He mused, making his way back down the sand dune.

"What do we have here?"A nasal voice sneered, prompting him to turn and greeting him with the sight of two bandits, both clad in thin bandages and turbans with coarse, cheap material gloves and trousers. They looked to be brothers, though it was difficult to tell with their eyes shadowed by the white headgear they had on.

"Back off." He growled, turning to confront them with swords drawn. Despite his words Lloyd knew all too well that they weren't smart enough to heed his words.

One of them chuckled as he saw Lloyd take a step back and stepped forward himself. "You ain't goin' nowhere." He mocked, slashing his knife through the air.

Faced with the two in front of him and the open desert behind him Lloyd realized that the two wouldn't just let him go and so charged forward, blades outstretched like a pair of talons.

The one closest stepped forward and jabbed at Lloyd with his jagged dagger in a rudimentary stab, only for his blade to be knocked aside by one of the boys' own, leaving him open to the iron sword that sheathed itself within his stomach. "Guh!" The man collapsed like a puppet with it's strings cut.

"Jake!" His companion lunged forward to avenge his friend, just as sloppy as the other man and getting batted aside just as easily.

Lloyd quickly hopped to the side as the man lunged again, yelling a battle-cry as he repeatedly attempted to impale him with the shoddily made weapon. A sudden swing from Lloyd on a straight attack had the mans' wrist bloodied; he automatically released the weapon with a yelp and Lloyd took advantage, bringing one of his blades across hilt-first to slam into his opponents' skull, sending him to the floor.

He stopped and stared at the two downed men and sighed, adrenaline still high from the battle. "Heh..."

After a brief few moments searching the men and taking two small pouches of gald and three apple gels, using one of them on the first bandits stomach wound, Lloyd continued on, making his way back to Triet.

It took around half an hour of walking, during which he fought off a few wild scorpions and snakes and another group of bandits, before he finally reached the small desert town. "Finally! It's so hot!" He wiped the sweat off of his brow and stepped through the small gates. "Better start asking around."

He walked over to a fruit stand near the gates and greeted the owner. "Hey, has the chosen's group been through here?" He queried anxiously.

The dark-skinned fellow behind the wooden stall smiled up at the lanky youth. "Ah, yes! They came through here yesterday. They were in quite a rush, must have been in a rush to finish the Journey of Regeneration, eh?" He grinned eagerly. "So, want to buy something?"

Lloyd left the stall ten gald shorter munching on an apple. "Ah, man, I took too long coming here. Maybe they went to the inn, or another store. Either way I've got to replace my weapons." He frowned down at the cracked and slightly jagged edge of his long-sword. "Soon."

The red-clad young man made his way over to the stores further down, thankful that the streets weren't too crowded as it made traversing them that much easier. "Hey!" He called to a bearded man, stocky, dressed in light colours and standing in the shade off to the side of the road. "Could you tell me where the nearest weapon or armour store is?"

The man nodded and pointed down the street. "The nearest weapon store is down the street, that boy there sells them. As for armour, you can go back down the road and just before you reach the fruit store there is a man that sells simple armour. Before you go," He continued as Lloyd started to walk away. "Have you ever heard of Synthesis?"

"Syn-the-sis?" Lloyd sounded out confusedly. "Can't say I have, why?"

The man grinned brightly. "Why? Because I specialize in it!"

"Huh." Lloyd raised his eyebrows. "Alright, I'll bite. What is it?"

The man puffed himself up, as though prideful of his profession, and went into a speech. "Why, my boy, it's an art! The art of turning old into new, making better out of worst, making armours harder, bigger, greater; Making swords sharper, longer, stronger. Changing items and creating them anew!"

"Okay..." He stared at the man. "Has anyone ever told you you look a little like a bear?"

"Bwah!" The man stuttered. "That's irrelevant!" Lloyd frowned and mouthed the large word, puzzled. "Look, bring me a beast hide and I'll show you!" He hedged.

Lloyd grinned once more, happy to help. "I have a beast hide right here!" He reached into his pack and pulled the required material from a side pouch.

"Great! Brilliant! Wonderful!" The other mans' eyes shined, ecstatic with the offering. "If you'll hand it over for a second..." He followed the mans order, giving him the object. "Now, follow me!"

Lloyd naively followed the man, stopping behind him when they reached a small metal bench. "Hey, wait a...!" He yelped, watching the man pull a hammer and small bottle of pins and screws out.

The man ignored him and pulled a small set of leather armour from beneath the bench with many more of it's ilk and laid it next to the material. He then wrapped the hide across the armour, tearing several strips from it in the progress, then pulled it across the chest and tucked it into the spot the steel pauldron had laid, taking a thread needle and stitching the material together before setting a newer, shinier set of pauldrons in place on the shoulder. Finally he took a belt and wrapped it around the lower-half of the set, slotting a set of chest armour in place from the small armour and stitching the strips of leather back in place and finally fitting chainmail beneath, stretching the beast-hide leather armour above it and then snapping it into place, finally setting it with pins and stitching around the arms. "And there we go!"

"Whoa!" Lloyd gawped at the thicker, stronger and hardier armour. "That was amazing! I didn't know you could connect and remake armour like that!"

The frizzy-haired man blushed and scratched his head. "Ahaha! All it takes is practice, m'boy! Here!" He presented the clothing to the brunette with a flourish.

"Seriously? For free?"

"Of course! I just enjoy making new items and materials! Feel free to come back any time or try it yourself, all you need is the materials!" He informed the joyful boy.

"Thanks! Great job!" He praised, eyes bright.

"Haha, no problem! Be careful out there!" The man warned, putting on a pair of dark sunglasses.

"I will!" Lloyd waved goodbye, smiling all the way. "What a great guy! Now all I need is a new set of swords." He pondered, making his way over to the kid on the stall a few feet down the street.

"Excuse me!" He called, reaching the turbaned child in seconds. "Do you sell weapons?" He questioned earnestly, trying to make sure that he had the right place."

The child's eyes brightened at the possibility of a purchase. "Yes; long swords, short swords, daggers, axes, polearms, spears, broad swords, nunchucks, kendama, bows and arrows, if you want it we've got it!"

Lloyd chuckled at the obviously rehearsed line and the fact that his friend's toy could apparently be considered a weapon. "Cool, I've got to replace thses..." He pulled out the twin blades and placed them on the counter. "Preferably with the same model."

The kid looked over the swords with a critical eye and then nodded decisively. "I think I've got a pair of Knight's swords. That'll be 400 gald."

Lloyd's eyes lit up at the cheap price. "That's a lot less than last time, why so cheap?"

"If we take the damaged swords they cover the material needed so really you're just paying for the forging process." The kid shrugged.

Having been raised by a dwarf Lloyd wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this practice, however Dirk only did specialized jobs for the most part and therefore never received materials for the job unless they were rare. "Cool."

He waited for the boy to take the blades out back and return with a replacement set, watching as he placed them down in front of him and scooped up the pouch of gald on the counter. "By the way, why are you minding the stool and not your dad, or your mom?" He quickly added, in case the boy had no father.

Said boys' eyes darkened as he looked down, as though remembering a particularly vivid memory. "The Desians came by earlier and when Daddy wouldn't give them weapons for free they started hitting him."

Lloyd tensed, remembering the attack on Iselia. "I'm sorry." He apologized lamely.

The boy jolted, as though shocked back to reality. "It's fine. Daddy's just resting for a few days and then he'll be good as new! For all your future weaponry needs come here, you won't find better prices, or if you did we wouldn't be surprised to see you shop there instead!" He quipped.

The dwarven-raised lad laughed at the make-shift slogan and started back towards the street, only to pause as he caught sight of a familiar shaped hole in the wall. "Gah!"

"Isn't it amazing?" He heard from beside him and turned to meet a small elderly woman with a beaming smile across her wrinkled face. "This house has been blessed by the CHOSEN!" Her smile got even brighter.

"Uh...Huh." He deadpanned, face blank. "Any idea where the... Chosen has gone?" Heasked, using her title distastefully.

The old woman evidently didn't notice as she turned to him. "I heard the silver-haired elf woman say something to the red-haired man about heading over the Ossa Trail after they'd been to the old city that was burnt down by Efreet." She pondered. "To the West."

"Gah...!" He flinched as though struck, realizing that the journey to Ossa trail would take at least a full day. 'I'd be better off using the last of my money to fill up on gels and buy cooking ingredients. And I should hopefully have enough for a room at the inn.'

"Thanks." He said out loud, walking away from the old lady to the final stall on the street, filled with various gels and bottles. 'First here, then the stall near that Fortune teller's place, and then I'll catch a night's sleep at the inn and try to catch up to them at the Ossa trail.' He decided resolutely, nodding firmly as he pulled out his gald pouch once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Lloyd frowned resignedly as he sorted through his inventory, arranging the various items within for convenience sake. Despite his hopes the gels had cost more than he'd hoped, thus he hadn't been able to buy as many orange gels as he'd wanted. If he wanted to make his way across the desert and through the Ossa trail he'd have to use his techniques scarcely. "Aw man." He huffed, grimacing.

After putting the items back within, he pulled his new armour over his top and sheathed his blades at each side. If he was going to venture alone he'd have to be more cautious; he didn't have a healer on hand and his supplies were limited.

He stepped out of his room and made his way downstairs, thanking the Inn owner for her hospitality and walking out the front door. "To the West..." He murmured, shielding his eyes from the sun as he walked toward the front gate. "Hope I can make it in time."

He trekked through the sand, groaning as he stepped over a particularly high hill and felt the hot, coarse grains enter his boots. "Not enough gald for full supplies, on my own, and now I have sand in my shoes! Great..."

"Your days about to get worse." He rolled his eyes at the unoriginal line and turned to confront the person uttering the words, a bandit dressed the same as the others he had seen and holding the same weapon, standing next to another. "You guys again?" He stared. "Well, you're persistent I'll give you that, especially attacking such a short distance from the village in Triet."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about, brat." One of them sneered. "But hand over your cash!"

"Heh." Lloyd smirked at the two and pulled his swords, holding them at his sides, symmetrical. "Alright, let's play."

Within seconds the two unprepared bandits were on the floor, moaning in pain as they nursed their wounds. "Damn... You...!"

Lloyd sighed, giving them a dull look. "You guys just don't learn, do you?" He asked rhetorically, casually searching their pockets and taking the small amount of gald he found. "Just give it up."He advised before continuing on with his walk to the Ossa trail.

"Excuse me!" He turned from the bandits to see a traveler with long brown hair running towards him. "I saw you take care of those bandits and couldn't help but notice your skill with those blades." He praised.

Lloyd puffed up, prideful of his blade ability. "Thanks, so what's up?"

"Well, I was wondering if you were hunting this bandit gang?"

The lanky red-clad youth tilted his head. "Gang?"

The traveler blinked, deep brown eyes the same shade as his hair swimming with confusion. "The black paw gang? The ones going around terrorizing the locals whenever they leave the village?"

"I didn't know about them..." Lloyd murmured concernedly. "Why are they terrorizing the locals?"

The traveler adjusted his knapsack and shrugged. "Because they can? With the Desians so scarce in this area people like them take advantage of the situation."

"What?" He growled, hands clenching the hilts of his swords so tightly that they were white beneath his gloves with the pressure. "Those bastards...!"

"They have a bounty, back in Triet; If you're interested."

Lloyd was torn. On the one hand, he had to catch up with the others; on the other... "Dwarven vow #2; Never abandon someone in need." He muttered, realizing his choice before he even made the decision. "Where is the bandit camp?" He said louder, drawing the traveler's attention away from where he was chuckling at the shoddy sight of the bandits on the ground, cursing them.

"They're based to the West, past the entrance to Ossa trail and the ruins where Efreet once lay waste." He said innocuously with a small smile. "So you're interested in the bounty?"

"Sure..." He waved off, already on the move. "Thanks for the info!"

"No problem." The other man waved him off, amused at his tenacity.

* * *

It took Lloyd nearly three hours walking in the sweltering heat to finally reach the camp. Based on the edge of the ocean in the spot directly between the desert and the sparse greenery edging around the mountains, built with ruggedly cut logs and badly-welded steel, the place didn't even have a door, merely a wide gap in the front of the camp.

"Finally made it. Now what?" He hissed, staring down at the bandits milling about the place.

_"HAH!" _He turned at the distant yell from the far-end of the camp and saw a badly dressed man, large and stocky with poorly kept hair and a blunt wedge of metal that may have once been a sword. _"GET BACK HERE!"_

He jolted as he saw a young girl with plain brown hair and pale blue eyes, looking younger than he was, trying to get away from the man, tears running down her cheeks as she crawled along the hard sand, heedless of the red skin of her hands and knees exposed through her tattered dress. "No, please!"

He saw red. "YOU BASTARDS!" He yelled, leaping down from the cliff-side directly into the camp from the side wall.

"Who the hell-!" The would-be rapists words were cut off, as was his head. Despite the iron helmet on his head Lloyd had cleaved clean through the straps with such force that he cleanly decapitated the man.

He ignored the feeling that came with his first kill and the yells of the terrified girl and spun, charging into the midst of the shocked bandits.

"Gre-!" The bandit didn't even get the chance to call out his dead allies name as Lloyd ran him through the chest with his knight's sword, already turning to a third man with a wild look in his eyes.

"Curse you!" The man raised his makeshift axe with a yell, not even reaching the apex of his swing as the red blur among them first cut through his hand, causing him to instinctively drop his weapon, and then brought his sword down to stab him through the skull.

Four, five, six, seven, the bandits fell before his wrath like scared rabbits before a starving wolf, not even getting the chance to defend themselves as he ran through them, hacking at them and sparing them no quarter.

He finally stopped, breathing heavily as he rested his blades tip first in the ground. He turned and saw the girl leaning against a crate on the floor, eyes on him, horrified with all the blood-shed yet shining with... something. "Are you okay?" He huffed.

He barely had time to drop his swords as the girl lunged for him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you!" She cried, burying her head in his shoulder. It said something about the situation that despite having seen him cutting through living people and hacking off limbs she still preferred the sight of a blood-stained killer over the... people that had held her captive.

"It's gonna be okay." He consoled nervously, unsure how to go about comforting someone, especially someone of the female persuasion. "It's all gonna be fine."

* * *

Lloyd calmly stoked the fire in front of him, thinking on the day thus far. It had taken him around half an hour to free all the prisoners. Sixty people had been kept in cages like animals, most of them residents of Triet. Shortly thereafter another group of about five bandits had come back to the camp, and after cutting through them, using two apple gels and an orange gel in the process, Lloyd had started rounding the people up, ensuring that they were at least patched up and prepared.

Among the prisoners he had found an old man that apparently used to be a mercenary and had taught him a technique called 'Guardian', something he had immediately taken to after reflecting on a particularly bad wound received in a moment of weakness against the bandits. One of them had begged for his life and when he hesitated took advantage and stabbed him in the stomach, thus the two apple gels.

In addition to the technique and some survival tips the old man had taught him how to utilize his 'Demon fang' tech better, branching out to two new techs, one called 'Double Demon fang' a slightly further powered Demon fang performed twice and 'Fierce Demon fang', a close-range Demon fang that hit in a semi-circle.

"Lloyd!" He turned and yelped when a female form smashed into him, knocking him off balance. "Whoa!"

He chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm and smiled. "Hey Lil."

Lil, the first girl he had saved, looked a lot better now that she was clean and dressed in new clothing found among the bandits loot, along with anything else the bandits could find.

Among his own loot was a pair of large blades the old man had called 'Ogre swords' and a necklace that supposedly prevented poison as well as a holy relic, a small ring that supposedly healed the wearer. The old man had reflected on a pastor in the village, withered and aged that had gone out for a stroll one day and never come back; now they knew why.

"You guys heading back to Triet?" He queried, eyebrows raised at her enthusiasm. It was like she wasn't just an hour ago nearly... Lloyd stopped that train of thought.

"Yeah." She nodded, smiling. "Listen, Lloyd... If you're ever in Triet, come by. 'Kay?" She hinted with a wink.

"S-Sure." He didn't quite get what she was getting at, but he suspected it was something that would get him hit by the professor if he'd said it.

That was around an hour-and-a-half ago, and now if was a dark, cloudless night.

He sighed as he lay on his back and stared up at the stars. 'Wonder how Colette, Genis and the Professor are doing...' He grimaced as his thoughts went to the hired mercenary. "That guy was a jerk!" He growled, narrowing his eyes.

He was distracted by his itching feet. "Damn." He winced, frowning. He'd been walking all day and hadn't realized that until now, it had been around one or twoish when he got to the camp and he'd left around around sevenish.

That was another apple gel down the drain.

* * *

Genis walked ahead of the group, head hung low in depression. When they had gone to rescue Lloyd they hadn't been able to find him in the Desian's base, he'd wanted to keep looking, refusing to abandon his best friend, but Kratos had said simply that they had no choice but to continue the Journey of Regeneration and after a short while Raine had agreed.

_"Genis, I know how much you want to find Lloyd, I do as well, as does Colette, but he's obviously not here."_

_Genis looked away from his sister. "But Raine..."_

_"Genis," The two half-elves turned to face the hired mercenary. "Lloyd has escaped, that much is obvious."_

_"What?" He'd asked, eyes wide. "H-How do you know?"_

_"Their storage rooms and prisoner cells held neither Lloyd nor his equipment, and their technology doesn't look to have been used recently, ergo he must have escaped." Kratos had informed with his usual calm, smooth baritone._

_"But-"_

_"Genis," Raine cut across, a hard expression on her face. "Lloyd isn't here, and we have to go, the Journey of Regeneration can't wait."_

The group had camped last night near the first seal and entered in the morning, finally leaving for Triet midday.

"Genis," He turned to look up at his sister. "I'm sorry about earlier, and Lloyd..." She looked away.

"Raine... It's fine, I understand." Despite his words he didn't stop sulking, looking ahead at the gates of small town in the middle of the desert.

"Genis..." She pursed her lips sadly.

The group, led by Kratos, entered the town. And stared.

Despite the sun setting high above them the streets were packed with rejoicing people, happiness etched onto their faces. "What a nice town." Colette said cheerfully behind them, smiling guilelessly around at her surroundings.

"What happened here?" The blue-clad half-elf wondered, watching the people embrace around him, joy in the air.

"Excuse me." Raine wandered over to the stables near the inn and started talking to a traveler tying up his mule. "Do you know what happened here?"

His eyes met hers and he grinned charmingly. "Why, of course fair lady, these people were recently saved by a young adventurer on his way to realize his potential!" He spun with the air of a storyteller.

"Ah." She nodded with an understanding expression, fringe bouncing with the movement. "I see. Did you see him?"

"Yep." He replied honestly. "Kid in red, said something about a vow; 'Never leave someone in need' or something... Nice guy, I'll give him a discount if I meet him again." He nodded resolutely.

She jolted and Genis' attention was pulled to them. "Lloyd!"

The others gathered around as the traveler cheerfully nodded. "Hey, yeah! You know him?"

"Did he say where he was going?" Raine asked without answering his question.

The man shrugged and thought for a moment. "Think he was... Heading for the Ossa trail before I saw him."

"Thank you." The half-elf woman nodded and walked away, forming a square with the others in the town center. "Lloyd's okay; He must be looking for us. Though how he knew we were going to the Ossa trail..."

"Perhaps the townspeople overheard us and he asked around." Kratos speculated. "Either way that's irrelevant. What matters is that he's safe and doing well." He opened an eye and saw them staring at him, stunned. "And as such you won't be distracted from your Journey anymore, Chosen." He covered, nodding to himself when they all sighed at his behaviour.

"Alright." The blonde nodded.

"For now, we'll rest at the inn." Kratos said stoically.

With that the group made their way to the inn.

"You're friends of Lloyd?" The Innkeeper asked upon their arrival.

"Yes." Colette nodded, sky blue eyes bright with the knowledge that their friend was alright.

"Well, any friend of Lloyds is a friend of mine, he saved my daughter," He explained at their inquiring look. "My precious Lil, taken by bandits and nearly killed if it weren't for that brave young man. Has he always been so..."

"He was always tenacious." Raine smiled, reminiscing on the rambunctious dwarven-raised boy, now man, with fond eyes. "If only he were as good at his schoolwork." She chuckled. "And staying awake. I swear, that boy could sleep anywhere."

Behind her Genis grinned and Colette giggled into her hand and, unnoticed to all, Kratos' expression softened. 'Anna...'

"Well, top floor, last three rooms, you can't miss them." He handed them the keys to the rooms. "Just try not to make too much noise. People are with their loved ones and some of them are still tired from the long journey back and their ordeal with the bandits."

The four nodded in understanding and made their way up the stairs.

"Alright," Kratos started just before they entered their rooms. "We'll rest here for tonight and then, first thing in the morning, make our way to the Ossa trail. Hopefully we will meet Lloyd at the trail, perhaps even the entrance. We leave at sunrise, understood?" Everyone in the ground nodded firmly. "Good. Sleep well."

* * *

A/N: Well, that escalated quickly... Hoping to make this epic in length. The only pairing thus far decided is LloydXRaine, YuanXMartel, KratosXAnna and, perhaps, GenisXPresea (Though the last one won't be a proper pairing, they're just kids... Sort of.)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

Lloyd huffed as he stepped out of the shadow of the pass leading up to the Ossa trail. "Finally." He breathed, rubbing sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand. Despite the innumerable interruptions; the Desians, the bandits, wild animals, losing Genis and the group, searching the ruins on the way to make sure that the group weren't at the seal (Damn Lava!) he was finally here.

"Now I've gotta wait for them." He frowned, huffing. Patience had never been the young mans strong suit. "Might as well go up and wait at the top." He decided, making his way up the stairs.

"Halt!" He paused in confusion and looked up, covering his eyes from the sun as he squinted at the figure in the light.

A young woman wearing a strange violet and pink outfit, her eyes hazel brown and hair raven-black with a minor purple tint. "Yeah?"

He stepped back as he saw her jump, landing in a crouch a few feet away. "Are you with the chosen?" She queried sharply, gaze piercing.

"Not right now, no." He responded. "Why?"

"Oh." She seemed to withdraw slightly at his denial but perked up quickly. "What do you mean 'right now?'" She asked.

"I'm planning on meeting up with her here, I'm gonna be helping her on the Journey of Regeneration!" He bragged, flicking a stray bang of hair from his face. "Why do you wanna know?"

"I'm... a fan!" She sounded put-on-the-spot, but Lloyd, oblivious as always, didn't notice. "I want to show my appreciation for what she's doing." She bit out.

"Oh!" Lloyd seemed startled by her words. "Well... That's really nice of you!" He grinned, closing his eyes as he scratched the back of his head. "Colette's really nice and I'm sure she'd love to meet you!" He assured her, unknowing of her true intentions.

"...Right." She responded hesitantly. She briefly felt guilty that she would, perhaps, have to kill him if he got in the way; he seemed... Nice.

"So, what's your name?" He asked innocently.

"Sheena. Sheena Fujibayashi." She replied honestly. "Nice to meet you." The words slipped out automatically, having been drilled into her since she was young.

"I'm Lloyd. Lloyd Irving. Nice to meet you too!" He chuckled as he watched the strange girl blush.

"Lloyd..." She nodded. "Say, Lloyd, would you come over here for a second?" She inquired innocently.

"Huh?" He blinked. "Sure!"

The two walked over to a small patch of darker grass off to the side of the road. "Just... Stand there for a second, I want to check something."

"O... Kay." He blinked once more and stepped onto the patch of olive green grass. "So, what did you want to check?"

"Sorry, Lloyd." He turned at her words and stopped as he saw her hand resting on a red-capped lever.

"Wai-!" He was abruptly cut off as she pushed the lever, sending hurtling into the dark hole. "Whoa!"

* * *

"Uuh..." Lloyd groaned as he slowly sat up, dazed and confused as he drifted into consciousness. "What hit me?" He murmured as he tried to remember what had happened. "Oh, crap!" He yelped, remembering what had occurred.

He stood up and his attention was drawn to a small note lazily drifting to the ground. "Huh?" He reached out and opened the letter.

_Lloyd, I'm sorry that I had to send you down this hole. _Here he growled.

_Unfortunately I wasn't honest with you before. I'm a trained assassin on a mission to kill the chosen. _"What!?"

_You're a nice guy, so I didn't want to have to hurt you, so I tricked you. The chosen came and I told them that you'd come and gone. _"What? NO!"

_They seemed upset, but when I attacked them the chosen knocked me down here. You were coming round so I knocked you out again._

_I'm REALLY sorry, Lloyd. Please take care of yourself._

**"AN OPPONENT?" **He froze in place, the fierce voice echoing through the dank, spacious cavern. The sound of shifting rocks was heard and Lloyd slowly turned as a jagged, serrated blade, shaped like a scimitar tore through the wall. His hand slackened as he stared at the blade, nearly as long as he was tall and mere feet away from him.

"Uh-oh." He squeaked, edging backwards away from the skeletal form tearing its way through rock as though it were paper. "No way."

**"WHO STANDS BEFORE ME?" **The voice, loud and challenging, tore through the air like a blade, causing Lloyd to cringe and automatically bring his hands to his ears. The red-clad youth stayed still and silent, desperately hoping that the monstrous form didn't notice him. His hopes were unfounded.

The creature turned a massive blackened skull towards him, a red gleam in it's otherwise empty eye sockets, massive sharp teeth twisting it's non-existent expression into a menacing grin. "Uh, hi?" He gulped, shuffling back away from it.

**"YOU." **He shook as it brought a massive fist slamming into the ground near him, gripping different weapons in each hand. The only thing that separated it from a human skeleton, if an abnormally large one, was the blackened tone, the dim gleam within it's eyes and the curved, spiraling horns on either side of it's head. **"SHOW ME YOUR STRENGTH!"**

That was all the warning Lloyd recieved before the beast swung with a drawn-back arm, it's backhand heading straight for his prone form.

Lloyd yelped and threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow and landing on his knees to clumsily crawl away. He quickly grabbed one of his blades, on the ground in front of him sticking out of a wide crack in the stone floor, and spun, keeping his eyes on the monster as he backed away. "Demon fang!" He cried, slamming the blade into the ground and jumping back as the crescent of rippling mana blasted across the floor, impacting with the head of the beast at near-point blank range.

**"YES!" **It didn't even flinch at the blow, instead arching it's back almost-unnaturally to tower over Lloyd and reveal, to his chagrin and growing horror, another two arms, each holding their own blades and each weapon nearly, if not actually, as large as Lloyd himself. **"SHOW ME YOUR CONVICTION!"**

A rugged, twisted sword screamed toward his head and he leapt back, pushing himself to his feet and entering a stance. "GUARDIAN!" He spoke, pushing his single blade above his head for added measure and bracing for impact.

It nearly didn't stop the attack, the single strike sending an array of cracks through the shield and splintering the ground around him. He pushed back and started running backwards, never taking his eyes off the beast in front of him. Finally he found himself next to his other discarded blade and quickly grasped it with his spare hand.

"Double Demon fang!" He slammed both hands simultaneously into the ground, resulting in two streaks of blue-fire across the ground toward the beast. The two strikes converged and meshed together, creating a single, concentrated beam of energy that impacted at the monsters torso and erupted, scorching it's rib-cage with luminous blue streaks.

The cave shook at the eruption and, as the faint mist that resulted from the moisture in the air mixing with the heat from his blow cleared, he could only gape as it drew into itself and burst forward, massive skeletal feet splitting the rock and grinding it into dust as it revealed it's full form.

The skeleton towered over him at nearly three stories in height and the width of a small house. It _roared_, sending the gathered debris scattering as though in fear and launched itself at him.

All Lloyd could do was jump back and keep going; yet despite his best efforts the monster gained on him ridiculously fast, bringing all four arms about at once and waving it's blades in a dizzying display of skill and strength that tore through stray boulders and steadily drew toward him, so fast and powerful that he felt them pulling at his clothing as though trying to draw him in.

He grimaced and jumped, climbing up the edge of the cave and leaping from ledges and boulders and vice-versa to stand above the creature and glare down at it through damp hair, huffing as though he had been running for hours. Despite only 'fighting' this... thing for a mere minute, two at best, he was already exhausted and covered in sweat, feeling worse than when he had fought Marble.

The Skeleton threw a giant arm into the air and brought it down, slamming into the cave and sending the boy tumbling to the ground in a heap of limbs. "Damnit!" He cursed, scrabbling to his feet and running forward, leaping off the ledge as it collapsed and descending toward the monster below. "BEAST!"

In a flurry of power and momentum he impacted, knocking it off it's feet and sending it tumbling into the massive fissure left in it's wake. He fell further, landing directly in front of the monster, glaring at it's downed form and mustering all his strength. "Fierce Demon fang!"

He finally felt as though it were a battle he could win as he watched the monster tumble back with his strike, uncontrollably recoiling instinctively to land on one knee.

He realized, though, that if the thing before him regained it's momentum or composure he was dead, and so lunged forward, digging his blade into it's ribs and leaving nary a scratch; He didn't need to though, all he needed was to gain a hold for his next blow. "Sonic thrust!"

His other sword smashed into the bone and send the creature reeling once more. "Take this, De-"

He couldn't finish his sentence or technique as all of a sudden his opponent swung, impacting with the flat of a thick, widening blade and sending him flying back to smash against the cave wall with all of the force of a missile.

He collapsed onto the floor, barely holding himself up as he choked on his own blood. "Damn it!" He repeated his previous sentiments, glaring at the approaching enemy with blurred eyes. Despite his serious injuries, though, he was beginning to feel better, like he was... "Healing!" He glanced down at his right hand and stared at the lightly pulsing ring on his index finger. "Ha!"

Lloyd grinned and quickly stood, glancing around the cavern and... There!

Leaning against the wall that he'd woken up against, his backpack lay inconspicuously, rough yellow colour naturally blending against the brown tone of the wall. 'If I can get to that I can grab my gels and heal quicker, _and _I can pull off some stronger moves with that orange gel I've been keeping in reserve.' He gasped as he remembered the blackened marks across the already dark ribs of the creature from his earlier attack. 'And the red quartz.' His eyes lit up and he turned, regarding the monster lumbering towards him. 'I'll only get one chance at this...'

He took off, legs moving as fast as possible, carrying him at the highest speed he could reach straight toward the skeletal form towering over him.

The beast seemed to laugh at the tenacity of it's prey, though it could just as well have been a rumble from the weakened supports of the cave as it groaned in protest from the weight of the monster, and raised all four arms simultaneously, weapons drawn back to slam forward.

Lloyd's eyes hardened and, in a single movement, he tucked his legs beneath him, pushing forward into a handspring straight _through _the monsters massive rib-cage toward the opposite wall, and his bag. "HA!"

He lunged, backing away as he threw an apple gel down his throat, swallowing quickly. While the gel worked better if you put it directly on the wound you had recieved, he didn't have nearly enough time to do that. He grabbed an orange gel and swallowed that as well and then reached into a side-pouch, withdrawing with a small, crimson-black rock and rubbing it against each sword.

The rock seemed to evaporate against the blades, coating them in a thin, red sheen, and he immediately threw his pouch over his shoulder, tumbling toward the faint light he could see at the other end of the tunnel. "Double Demon fang, Double Demon fang, Double Demon fang, Double demon fang, Demon fang!"

All of his energy, all of his mana and all of his power went into the blows, his arms straining and swords shining, exsphere glowing almost blindingly.

**"GRAAAH! **The beast shook as the attacks impacted and, in turn, the roof finally gave way, barraging it with blue energy tinted with red and several tons of rock.

"Is it over?" Lloyd panted, dragging himself from the stray wreckage lying around him.

**"GRUH!" **He tensed as he saw a massive hand drag itself through the debris and shake off a wooden support. The Skeletal monster glared balefully with a cracked eye socket, darkness simmering within the depths, the light seemingly extinguished. **"I... AWAIT... NEXT TIME." **It spoke simply, collapsing into the rubble and staying down.

Lloyd shakily stepped over some debris and looked down the hole made from it's departure. The beast was gone. "Crap." He breathed.

Time to gather his wits about himself, collect his supplies; and winnings, he added to himself, staring at the ancient-looking mirror on the ground, and leave this behind.

Despite his thoughts, he shivered as the beast's words echoed through his mind of their own volition.

_**"I... AWAIT... NEXT TIME."**_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

**In which Lloyd takes the Hard Path:**

* * *

After ten minutes Lloyd reached the entrance of the mineshaft, ecstatic to see the daylight again. "Finally!" He gazed into the sun as he rejoiced in his survival. "Can't believe I survived _that_!" He exclaimed, nearly hysterical.

After a few more minutes he calmed down and started planning his next course of action. "So, the others made it through the trail, so they'll head..." He perused the map laid flat on the floor before him, roaming over the route. "To the west is... The City of Hope? Luin!" He nodded to himself, folding the map and setting off toward his destination.

After three hours Lloyd looked into the sky, taking in the sight of the orange sky, the sun slowly disappearing over the horizon. "Guess I'll make camp." He murmured, putting down his items and pulling out the makeshift tent he'd prepared yesterday. "Best get a fire going or I might freeze." He sighed.

* * *

"Genis." The blue-clad boy turned to see his sister, pasting a smile onto his face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He replied to his sister's inquiry. "Seriously, I'm fine!" He assured her; yet his voice was flat as he said it, as though he couldn't even reassure himself.

"Genis... I'm sure Lloyd's fine." Raine put her hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort her younger brother. "There was no blood at the trail, and despite her objectives the assassin didn't seem the type to include non-combatants." She reminded, bringing his thoughts back to the way the assassin had avoided injuring him and Raine and consistently used precise strikes against Colette, as though to instantly and painlessly incapacitate her.

"Right." He nodded, frowning. "I just don't get why he didn't wait for us!" He complained, annoyance clear in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, Genis!" He turned to Colette, blinking. "Just trust Lloyd, I'm sure he knows what he's doing, and we'll meet him eventually!" She said guilelessly, and despite her naive words Genis felt uplifted, as though the world had just gotten brighter.

"You're right, Colette. Lloyd'll do fine!" The two exchanged grins, eyes closed as they did so and therefore not seeing Raine's expression as her lips lifted at the corners, staring down at the two children with a small smile.

'Lloyd... I hope you're all right...'

"We'll stay at the inn." Kratos interjected from his place scouting the small town ahead of them. "And then, tomorrow, catch a boat straight to Palmacosta." He decided, straight-faced as usual.

"Right." Raine agreed. "Come on, you two." She directed the younger two members of the party to the Inn, all three of them smiling as they made their way.

* * *

"Raaaaaah!" Lloyd yawned loudly as he got out of the thin tent, stretching as he did so. "To the East." He reminded himself, determined to get to Luin and not, as his body was urging him, go back to bed. "Gotta catch up with Colette and the others."

Within fifteen minutes he'd cleared his campsite and re-packed his tent, ready to go. "And we're off!" He forced himself to remain cheerful as he stepped forward, heading for a small lake nearby to restock on water and perhaps catch some fish and spare his pre-prepared supplies.

Within the hour he'd caught a fish and had breakfast, as well as filtering the water and ensuring all of his bottles were full to the max, with only a scant few scratches from surprise monster attacks for the worse.

He walked around the edge of the lake and made his way across a rickety wooden bridge, unknowing that the bridge was a landmark to show that he was just due south of Luin; he wouldn't realize that until later, when he found himself at the foot of a small mountain range.

"Damn it!" He repeated what seemed to be becoming his catch-phrase. He glared up at the mountain, as though it had personally slighted him in some way. "Again and again."

Nonetheless, he huffed and started toward the slope the mounts' foot, hoping that there was someone living in the ramshackle wooden structure he could spot.

"Hey!" He yelled as he spotted a familiar figure in purple. "Sheena!"

Said person turned around, startled. "L-Lloyd!" She yelped, twisting and shoving her hand into a small pouch at her side.

He watched her withdraw with a small cylinder grasped between her fingers. "Wait a sec-!"

She threw the cylinder at the ground, covering the area in smoke.

"Wha-!" He stared at the now-blank spot as the smoke cleared. "Sheena!" He growled angrily, cursing under his breathe.

"Excuse me," He turned, surprised as he noticed the young brunette girl with her hair tied back addressing him. "Do you know Sheena?" She asked him.

"Yeah... kinda, why?" He queried, eyebrows raised into his hairline.

"Are you here to help Pietro, then?" She said hopefully.

"Pietro?"

"A-AH!" She tensed, eyes wide. "I apologize. Forget I said anything!" She spun and ran into the small inn at the top of the hill.

"Huh." Lloyd stared after her, tilting his head in confusion. "O... Kay." He calmly walked up the slope towards the sturdy looking wooden building. "Excuse me!"

"Yeah?" The man in the green hat sitting in the stables beside the building turned to him, smiling invitingly. "What can I do for you?" He queried, nudging his wares into view with his foot.

"Are you a salesman?" He asked, tilting his head at the rather obvious action.

"Merchant." The man corrected, his smile not even budging an inch. "And yes, young man. That I am. Now, would you care to buy anything?" He raised an eyebrow, brightening as he caught sight of one of Lloyd's pouches of gald, in view at his side.

"Sure." He obliged, pulling out his money and browsing over the cloth full of blades and materials. "I'm looking for new leather wraps for my swords' hilts and a whetstone."

"Alright!" The man yelled boisterously, pulling out a thin, shimmering blue material from his bag and a pale blue whetstone. "That'll be 1200 gald!"

"1200?" Lloyd blinked at the price. "That's a little much, isn't it?" He pondered.

"Ah, but _that's _because this fine wrap here," The man lifted said item to show it in full view. "comes from the seal within Thoda geyser! It's frictionless due to the mana that lingers in the air, and actually wipes off any dirt on the hilts as you grip it; on top of that, it can't get wet despite the comfortable feel of the wrap and it's fireproof. I've had a bunch of it for years, ever since the last chosen failed the journey!"

Lloyd jerked back at the mention of the previous chosen's failed journey, but nonetheless kept a positive smile on his smile. "Cool. I'll take it!"

"Great!" The merchant beamed and handed the wraps and whetstone to Lloyd, who then put the whetstone in a small brown bag with other miscellaneous items and went to attach his new wraps.

"Excuse me, young man." He turned to find an old woman, her gray hair in a bob and hunched over a walking cane. "Could you help an old woman up the path?"

"Sure." He nodded, offering his arm to her and assisting her up the path toward a group of large wooden crosses.

The old woman grimaced as they reached the make-shift grave markers. "The Desians victims." She explained at his look of morbid curiosity. "They escaped the ranch to the North-East, but died shortly after arriving."

_'Are you here to help Pietro?' _He jolted, the girl from earlier's words echoing through his head. "Pietro..." He murmured.

The old woman turned sharp eyes on him. "Ex...-"

"-Desian... Chosen... Ranch... Boulder..." The two turned, startled, and caught sight of a weak-looking man with cropped brown hair and a glazed look in his eyes.

"PIETRO!" The young woman from earlier ran up the path and grabbed the man's arm. "Pietro, you can't go around in the open like this, get back inside." She begged, eyes teary.

"Pietro," Lloyd ignored the man's carer and addressed him directly. "What do you mean about the ranch and a boulder; or the Chosen?" He asked concernedly.

Despite his evident affliction, the man's eyes still scanned his own, as though searching his character, before his hand shakily edged out, holding a small black orb. "Desian ranch... boulder... Protect the... Chosen."

"A boulder at the Desian ranch... A hidden entrance!" He exclaimed, eyes wide. "And they're going to do something to Colette; The Chosen?" He hissed.

The man shakily nodded. "Kvar... Mana... Cannon." With those last foreboding words the man, Pietro, collapsed.

"Pietro!" The girl gasped, but Lloyd quickly shot forward and caught him before he hit the floor, hefting him over his shoulder.

"Let's get him back to the Inn." He grunted, half-carrying half-dragging the ailing man back to the hut.

* * *

"Pietro escaped from the Desian's human ranch to the North-East, and when he got here there were others, but they..." She trailed off, looking down at the harshly breathing man lying unconscious in the bed.

"So, Pietro's the only survivor?" He questioned with a frown, fists clenched. "Damn those Desians...!" He growled, dark thoughts creeping through his mind.

"Yes..." She replied. "But I've heard of a book that may help him, if a healer could use it. It's called 'Boltzman's book'. He apparently created the healing artes." She informed him, eyes glimmering with unshed tears and faint hope that someone could save him.

"I'll find that book." He swore, steel in his gaze. "And I'll save Pietro."

The girl looked up at him, tears now trailing freely down her face. "T-Thank you! Thank you..."

"It's nothing." He brushed off, wincing bashfully. "Where is the book?"

"The tower of Mana. They've got a giant library there." She frowned. "But, I've heard that it's locked, ever since monsters got into the tower."

"Who has the key, then?"

She looked away in thought, frown deepening. "Probably a priest in the nearby area. Luin or even Asgard." She decided.

"I'll find him." He promised.

* * *

After a night at the small Inn, courtesy of the emotional young woman, Sofia, Lloyd set off for the Tower of Mana, desperately hoping that said Tower was unlocked.

Despite his hopes to the contrary the tower was, indeed, locked; The sturdy doors, built of an unusual metal he couldn't identify, closed tight. "No..." He moaned, slamming his palms into the solid doors with an unsatisfying 'Clunk'.

He sighed and stepped back from the doors, looking up at the massive tower and grimacing. "Guess I'm gonna have to go to_ Luin_."

He'd been hoping otherwise purely because while it was a fair distance from Hima and the Tower of Mana, it was also far North of Luin, perhaps over a days journey, even.

* * *

It took him a full day to arrive in Luin, as predicted, and he got there in relatively good condition despite the bandits that had attacked him multiple times, and the eggbears that he had encountered taking a shortcut through a nearby forest.

"Hey!" He called out to the nearest person walking by the fountain in the center of town. "Excuse me, but could you tell me where the nearest priest is?" He asked hopefully.

The dully-dressed man turned and pointed across a bridge facing East and Lloyd squinted, noticing the obscured form of a cross behind one of the houses facing the riverfront. "Thanks!" He said cheerfully, stepping jauntily toward the bridge.

As it turned out, however, he was prematurely relieved. "A pilgrimage?" He asked the acting replacement. "Sounds... Icky."

"A pilgrimage is a journey that priests undertake in order to show spiritual commitment and perhaps attain enlightenment." The long-haired fresh-faced youth deadpanned.

"Ah! Right..." Lloyd blushed. "So where did he say he was going?"

"Father Ryan has gone to Asgard to see the seal of the wind spirit; I'm not sure where he plans on heading after that, so perhaps you had better hurry." He spoke kindly, bowing politely.

"Thank you!" Lloyd rushed out the sacred wooden doors, heading for the fountain and stopping when he caught sight of a familiar person. "Sheena!"

"Ah!" She jumped from where she was standing in a circle of small children. "L-Lloyd!"

"So you're it, right?" A young boy with floppy brown hair said brightly to the young woman, smiling happily. "You've gotta catch us!"

"Okay." Sheena nodded distractedly as the red-clad man slowly approached. "Lloyd, did you follow me here?" She gulped. She only had one smoke grenade left, so if she was going to use it she wanted to make sure she was in danger.

"No, I'm here for Pietro." He ground out, glaring at her. "Why are you here?" He shifted, allowing easier access to his swords if it came down to a fight.

"Pietro! You know about... it?" She hissed, warily looking around the fountain to ensure that they weren't overheard. "His... Illness?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm looking for the key to the Tower of Mana so that I can get the book." He intoned, still glaring.

Sheena shrunk slightly at the look and then straightened, shuffling as she did so. "Lloyd, I'm sorry for back at Ossa trail. I had to get you out of the way and I didn't want to have to hurt you, so I..."

"And how did the giant demonic skeleton play into it?" He growled.

"Giant... _WHAT?" _She yelped, staring at him with wide eyes.

"A GIANT SKELETON! With horns and four arms and swords and so much power it isn't even funny! I was lucky to get out of that mineshaft alive!" He started shouting but upon noticing that he was drawing attention quickly lowered his voice.

"I am so, _so _sorry! I didn't know..." She trailed off sheepishly, looking down with an embarrassed blush. "Seriously, when I left the mineshaft was empty. I mean, further in there were some monsters, but other than the small fries, well... Sorry."

Lloyd frowned at her for a moment before, with a sigh, he relaxed his posture. "Alright. I accept your apology."

She looked up at him incredulously. "That's it? No revenge or attacks or insults or anything?"

Lloyd shrugged, laughing. "Well, you didn't mean to leave me down there with that thing, right?"

"No..." She replied abashedly, focusing her gaze onto the clear blue water in the fountain, keeping her eyes off of him.

"Then it's fine. I'm not one to hold a grudge." He grinned.

"Thanks..." Sheena was unsure what to say to that, so just kept staring at the fountain.

"But," She jolted at his serious tone. "I can't let you hurt Colette, so I can't let you leave."

The Mizuhoan quickly jumped back, drawing her seal cards as she did so. "Damn. I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."

Lloyd shifted once more, hands resting on his hips against his swords.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

The two stood off against one another; hands resting on their respective weapons, both ready to make the first move, yet not quite prepared to initiate the conflict.

Finally, Lloyd drew his swords and charged forward, blades drawn back, poised to strike.

The young ninja leapt back, avoiding his blows with deft agility and throwing her cards out to cut into his outstretched arm, missing by inches when he stepped back, pulling himself into a defensive stance.

Despite the fact that they had already started fighting the two were hesitant to escalate the battle, being as they were in the middle of a town with children and animals milling about. After a few moments Lloyd relaxed, sheathing his swords. "We'll do this another time." He spoke begrudgingly.

Sheena kept her expression stoic as she watched his movements, obviously expecting an underhanded move from him. "Fine."

With that short exchange the red-clad youth turned his back on her, calmly walking away from the impromptu battle.

* * *

Lloyd had booked it out of the town as soon as possible; despite her apparent good character the fact remained that the young assassin was just that; an assassin. He had immediately re-arranged his pack with his new purchases and set off to the East in the direction of Asgard.

On the way to Asgard he found himself fighting more bandits than even the amount found in the desert near the mountain trail, and of better trained quality as well. The dwarven-raised teen had come to realize that for some reason the enemies in the desert were stronger than the ones near Iselia and the enemies past the Ossa trail were even stronger than that; at first he had thought that perhaps it was because of the Desians, but with a ranch near here as well, and with an even crueler leader than the green-haired guy back near the forest according to the locals he had started getting worried, leading to something he never would have thought he'd do without being assigned it by the professor; _Homework._

Lloyd grimaced in consternation as he wrote down info on the most recently encountered group of enemies in his most recent purchase; a crude brown book with a tacky sticker with the words 'Monster book' on the front.

He scratched down a description of an egg-bear. "Brown hair... Scratch that, fur. Brown eyes. Big claws; yellow-white. Fangs..." He pondered for a moment on whether or not the large spiky teeth it had were called fangs or not. "Or are they just teeth...? Eh." He shrugged and wrote down both. "Now, do we call the bandits monsters, they're dressed mostly the same, so..."

He looked up when he noticed a shadow looming over him and realized that he had walked down a small slope into someones campsite, as evidenced by the massive caravan and bearded man beaming at him. "Nova's caravan!" He grinned, putting away the book. "Hey, old man!" He waved as he greeted said man.

"Young mister... Lloyd, was it?" He greeted with a faint Trietan accent. "How have you been on your adventures?"

"Great!" He scratched the back of his head and tried to focus on his current objective. "Hey, Nova. Could you tell me how far East I have to go until I reach Asgard?" He queried happily.

"Asgard...?" The turbaned man blinked at the brunet youth. "Lloyd, you've gone past Asgard, you're approaching the mountains South-East of the Balacruf mausoleum, Asgard is to the South-West!" He boomed out, laughing at the red-clad young man.

"Aw, man!" He cringed. "Well, I don't suppose you've seen the Chosen's group, have you?" He asked hopefully.

"Ay! Back when we were crossing the Ossa trail we bumped into a group calling themselves the chosen's group." He replied helpfully, frowning slightly. "Rude bunch, 'specially that red-haired fellow."

Lloyd blinked and reasoned to himself that perhaps Kratos had spoken for the group; the guy did seem like a dick. "Yeah, I don't like that guy either, did they say where they were going?"

"Palmacosta." He answered shortly, interest obviously drawn elsewhere. "Was that a monster record book I saw you writing in as you came over here?" He asked eagerly, face alight in anticipation.

"Ah, yeah." He blinked at the man's enthusiasm and nodded. "But, why so interested?"

"Not in the monsters, but I was wondering..." He trailed off as though gathering his courage. "Have you seen a large, shining bird?"

Lloyd blinked once more. "Like... A hawk?" He asked unsurely, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "'Cause, yeah, I've seen a fair few!"

"No, not hawks or native birds; something else, a woman traveling with another group earlier called it 'Aska'." the childish man pouted, put-out by the fact that he had not yet received confirmation on his hopes.

Lloyd mentally filed away the word 'Native' as something to look up later and shook his head. "No, sorry. If I see it I'll let you know." 'If I can find you.' He added mentally, and doubtfully.

"Thank you, Lloyd. I hope all goes well for you." With that the older man patted him on the back and headed back over to his caravan.

"Hey, before you go," He turned at Lloyd's words, raising a thick, bushy eyebrow in curiosity. "Do you have a dictionary?"

His amused smile was hidden by his massive beard as he nodded. "Ay, we've got a spare. Take it." He offered as he climbed the ladder to his caravan and reached around to the side of the door, feeling around before pulling out a thick, worn leather book. "You need it." He quipped.

"Thanks." Lloyd smiled gratefully. "I owe you one."

The bearded, hairy man chuckled once more into his hand and shook his head at the youth's attitude. "You be careful out there, Lloyd."

With that the two parted, Lloyd heading South-West to Asgard and Nova absently wondering where the silver haired elf boy previously with the red-clad youth had gotten to.

* * *

It took nearly two hours to get to Asgard, including a brief detour in which Lloyd was informed that the only way for him to get to Palmacosta was to either become a member of the travel agency, join a tour or go by sea. Finally, however, he arrived at the city of 'the seal of wind', according to the perky girl at the front entrance wearing a bright red stetson 'cowboy' hat.

He'd been walking for just a few minutes looking around for a general store and the priest when he found the stairs leading up to said seal of wind. It took him just two minutes to scale the massive flight of stairs and in that time he noticed a group of men dressed religiously and a man with gray hair, a mustache and a bright red face. "I'm telling you, we have no choice!" Said man shouted, glaring at a group of young, raggedly dressed individuals.

"We're not letting you sacrifice Aisha!" One of them, a red haired bandana wearing youth dressed in a bright purple sleeveless shirt shouted, returning the other man's glare.

"If we don't sacrifice the girl, it'll destroy the town, it'll kill us all! It's my responsibility as mayor to ensure that that doesn't happen!" The newly revealed mayor blustered, frowning heavily.

"Then kill the monster, destroy the dais, do _something_!" The other boy, a spectacle wearing dark-haired lad dressed in green shouted.

Lloyd stepped closer to them and looked between the two groups. "What's going on?" He queried, confused.

The mayor turned his ire on the new entrant into the argument. "None of your business, outsider!"

"Mayor! Mind your tongue!" One of the elder priests said reprovingly, shutting the mayor up. "Every year Asgard has to sacrifice a young maiden from the town in order to appease the spirit of the wind seal, otherwise it will destroy the entirety of Asgard." He spoke, looking down as he did so.

Lloyd stared at the balding man with bushy eyebrows. "That's horrible! Why haven't you tried to stop this?"

The mayor butted in, glare stern once more. "We can't! It's too powerful!" He bemoaned.

"So they're going to kill Aisha!" The red-haired youth spoke once more.

The entirety of the other party looked away ashamedly at that statement, even the mayor unable to refute the statement.

"I don't know _why _you can't just kill it, I'll help." Lloyd volunteered, staring at the assembled group before him.

"IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE!" The mayor repeated through grit teeth, glaring at the youth. "It's a _spirit_, THE spirit in the wind seal! We can't hope to beat that!"

"You won't know until you try!" Lloyd argued.

"If we try, we'll all die. Just don't interfere!" With those final words the mayor walked away, completely ignoring the words of protest behind him.

"I apologize for the mayor's behaviour," The elder priest started, frowning. "The whole town is under duress from the events involving the spirit of the seal of wind." He explained mournfully.

"That's... okay." Lloyd replied, befuddled. "I just don't understand why he won't fight."

"Because he's a _coward_!" The red-haired youth spoke from the side. "And I'm not going to let Aisha die!"

Lloyd stared after the youth as he walked away. "I've gotta go." He said to the priests distractedly, walking away from the dais.

* * *

Lloyd wasn't sure what he was doing, staring at the ritual with the rest of the despondent townspeople. Despite his attempts to talk the girl, Aisha, out of performing the ritual she was intent on ensuring the safety of the rest of the town with her sacrifice.

Thus leading up to this moment, staring up at the girl as she stepped from point to point on the massive slab of stone, dancing across from corner to corner.

He wasn't just going to stand by however, no, he had a plan... of sorts. Apparently the monster appeared directly in the center of the seal before it took the girls, so by focusing on that point he would see it when it emerged and be able to strike; He wasn't sure how well he could fight against a spirit of wind, but he couldn't just stand by while an innocent girl was dragged to her death by a monster.

He straightened as the girl finished the ritual, pressing a staff down into the center of the seal and summoning the monster.

And that was most assuredly what it was, hovering above the seal, it hunched over the girl at over three times the height of a regular human being with thick talons for fingers and a large, crescent-shaped blade where it's feet should be, it glared down at the girl with putrid orange-yellow coloured eyes, it's body a sickly purple-white colour. **_"I have come for the girl."_ **It spoke without a mouth.

Despite not having much of a point of reference Lloyd felt the words echo in his mind and instinctively knew; "That's not a summon!" He yelled, drawing his blades and jumping up onto the dais, charging straight for it.

The monster, not expecting resistance, was taken by surprise and with a strangled mental yell was pushed away from the girl by a dual wing of his blades that cut deep gashes into thin skin.

With a yell of; "Beast!" He send it reeling, tumbling end-over-end across the stone to fall off the seal and into the stone wall separating the seal grounds and the steep cliff.

Lloyd had been fighting on his own for quite a while, and had in turn gained experience in pressing the advantage and preparing for battle, in gaining the advantage and using his initiative, so with another cry of; "Double Demon Fang!" He sent two waves of blue energy flying across the terrain to collide with the dust-obscured fiend, releasing another strangled yell.

The red-clad youth hadn't realized just how fast he had progressed battle-wise, fighting entire groups by himself and taking down monsters far beyond his own level, to the point that his current level was almost incomparable with his level in Iselia, so when he released another wave of; "Demon Fang's!" hoping to gain an advantage and keep it off guard he didn't realize that it had already died, the Double Demon Fang released tearing away at it's exposed torso and tearing straight it's fragile body.

Perhaps if it had had time to take to the air and gather it's mana it could have released it's own techniques and reinforced itself and things may have turned out differently, but as is he only realized that he could stop firing off mana like a cannon when one of his attacks went straight through the wall, releasing a wave of navy-blue fire into the air to dissipate into the wind.

The gobsmacked townspeople stared at the dwarven-raised young man as he stood straight once more, staring on with narrowed eyes, prepared for a comeback that would never come.

Lloyd only relaxed when he saw it's bloody remains slowly fading into strange motes of light, vanishing into the atmosphere. "It's over."


End file.
